Easy Thumbprint Cookies with Icing Recipe for Holiday Cookie Trays

These thumbprint cookies with icing are a buttery vanilla shortbread with a small jam center, finished with a sweet icing drizzle instead of leaving the well bare. They take about 55 minutes start to finish including a chill, make 22 cookies, and cold butter is what keeps the shape clean under all that icing.

There’s something about a plain butter cookie that never goes out of style, and this one gets a little extra with a thin line of icing running over the top. It’s the kind of cookie that looks fancy on a tray but is really just a basic shortbread dressed up a bit.

The icing is the whole point of this version, so I’ll walk through exactly how to get it to the right consistency and how to tell when it’s ready to drizzle.

If your dough feels too dry and crumbly to roll into balls, that’s an easy fix before you go any further.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Classic buttery vanilla shortbread base, no fussy flavors to balance
• A touch of jam inside and a sweet icing drizzle on top, instead of just one or the other
• One bowl, one bake, no double-pressing or re-baking required
• Simple pantry ingredients you likely already have
• Freezes well as shaped, unbaked dough
• A plain-but-pretty option for a tray full of flashier cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, not scooped with the measuring cup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup jam of your choice, stirred smooth
• 1/2 cup (60g) powdered sugar, for icing
• 1 to 2 tsp milk, for icing
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, for icing

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Flour: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping straight from the bag. Scooping packs in extra flour without you realizing it, and that’s the most common reason this dough turns out too dry and crumbly to roll.

Jam: Any smooth jam works here since the icing on top is doing most of the flavor work. Thicker preserves with big fruit chunks tend to leak out the sides of the well during baking, so stick with a jam that’s already smooth or press it through a strainer first.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Cream the Butter and Sugar

Beat the cold, cubed butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Keep the butter cold rather than fully softened — this is what keeps these cookies from spreading flat once the icing goes on top, since a wider, thinner cookie makes a poor base for a drizzle.

Step 2: Add the Egg Yolk and Vanilla

Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until combined. The mixture can look a little loose at this stage; it firms right back up once the dry ingredients are added.

Step 3: Mix in the Dry Ingredients

Whisk the flour and salt together, then fold it into the wet mixture just until combined. If the dough looks too dry and crumbly to hold together when you squeeze a bit in your hand, that’s usually from too much flour sneaking in while measuring — keep mixing a little longer first, and only add a teaspoon of water if it’s still not coming together.

Step 4: Chill the Dough

Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 20 to 30 minutes. This firms the butter back up after creaming and is the main thing standing between a cookie that holds its shape and one that spreads thin in the oven.

Step 5: Roll and Fill

Scoop the chilled dough into 1-tablespoon balls and roll smooth, then press a well into the center of each with your thumb or a rounded teaspoon. If the edges crack as you press, just pinch them back together with your fingers before baking — a repaired crack disappears completely once it’s in the oven. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of smooth jam into each well.

Step 6: Bake

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are just set and barely golden. This dough stays pale even when it’s done, so go by the firmness of the edges rather than waiting for color, or the bottoms will overbake while you’re still watching the top.

Step 7: Make the Icing and Drizzle

Let the cookies cool completely before icing, or it will run straight off and melt into the jam. Whisk the powdered sugar with vanilla and a few drops of milk at a time until the icing drips off a spoon in a slow ribbon that holds its shape for a second before disappearing — too thin and it soaks into the cookie instead of sitting on top, too thick and it won’t drizzle at all. Drizzle it over the filled cookies in thin lines and let it sit for about 10 minutes to set before stacking or serving.

A Simple Cookie That Still Looks Special

Sometimes the plainest cookie on the tray ends up being the one people reach for twice, and that’s exactly the appeal of this one. The icing drizzle does all the dressing up, so the dough itself stays simple enough to make on a weeknight.

These keep well at room temperature in a sealed container for about five days, or freeze the shaped, unfilled dough balls so a fresh batch is only ever a bake away. If you give these a try, I’d love to know how your icing turned out — a star rating and a comment below means a lot.

For more cookie recipes you will love:

• Thumbprint Cookies
• Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
• Almond Thumbprint Cookies
• Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies
• Lemon Shortbread Cookies
• Pecan Shortbread Cookies